How Long To Stay At Wdw???

[beebles]

what is the "best" amount of days to cover disney with 2 small children who cannot do full days. we need to chill in the afternoon at the resort...consider travel time (flight is 2 hours).

 

[ACDSNY]

We went in Oct 2003 with extended family which included a 3 year old. Since we are from CA we needed 7 nights to have enough time to enjoy everything.

 

[bellarella]

It all depends on your family. We stayed for 5 nights and it was a perfect amount for us. We didn't see "everything" but we did the things that were important to us. Had we left a day sooner it would have felt it too short and a day longer seemed unnecessary. We did not do park hoppers, as we found that with two young children we did parks in the morning and resort in the afternoon and once we got back to the resort we didn't feel like going out again (though staying at a monorail resort was great because it was really easy to go to other resorts on the monorail for meals). We did 4 days of park passes and spent one day each at AK and MGM and 2 days at MK.

 

[ccw]

I've been amazed at how many people stay for 10 days to two weeks...never done THAT. Our average stay is about 4 nights but have done as few as three nights. I think there is much wisdom in not running everyone ragged. But if you organized and get up early, you can still "do" the parks and find plenty of pool time and relaxing time even in a short trip. Unless it is a once in a lifetime trip, my advice is to keep it short and sweet. The parks aren't going anywhere

 

[Deb & Bill]

Our shortest trip has been five nights. Our longest has been two weeks. Five nights just isn't long enough. (We've gone 18 times since Nov 1997). If you want a good trip, with enough time to relax during the day and not feel the need to commando through the park, seven nights should about do it. You would be able to hit each of the parks at least twice and MK maybe three times. Plus get in a little nap and pool time.

On our trip last week, we spent every afternoon at the pool (from roughly noon until about 5). We hit a park each morning after we ate a nice breakfast. Did dinner in a park every evening. We did Spectro and Wishes. Didn't get in Fantasmic or Illuminations (saw them in June). But we did DQ twice, TL at least once.

 

[Jackie H.]

We love 7 nights as a minimum....we have stayed as long as 10 days and never once felt like we stayed too long. The longer you stay, the less you will feel a need to do in a day and therefore, won't overdo. Of course, I don't think you could "do everything" in a month so don't even try that!

I recommend at least a full week.

 

[elastigirlfan]

I think a week, 7 nights. We still haven't done everything yet. But, that gives us great exscuses to keep going back.

 

[sue1013]

We used to do 4 or 5 night stays and found we came home feeling like we needed a vacation. Now the minimum we do is 7 nights. Some have no interest in anything but the parks going commando. I like to come home feeling like I had a vacation and enjoying all that WDW has to offer not just the parks.

 

[MissionMouse]

We have found 7 nights to be a good length of stay with two small children. The key is providing balance during the day and shifting your schedule if you want them to experience some of the after dark activities (i.e. fireworks, parades, special event parties/events, light shows, etc.)

 

[lizanne]

I think with 2 small children a week (7 nights) would be good. You can't do all the rides with small children so you should be able to see the things they would like.

You're smart to take afternoon breaks.

 

[dixipixi]

My advice: know the people you're travelling with!!
We always stay at least 10 nights. Our reasons are:
1. DH has a stressful job. It takes him a couple of days at the beginning of a trip just to unwind. Anything less than 8 days and it's hardly worth him going.

2. DS (16). Typical teenager. Wants to close the parks down and sleep late the next morning. Would be content to stay in the hotel's arcade! Also loves the water parks.

3. DS (12). Total water puppy. Give him a pool and he's happy. SAB was total nirvana for him! He had to have some time at the pool every day. Would rather go to the water parks than the theme parks.

4. Me...I'm happy. I'm at WDW, right? I won't take the boys out of school, for that long...so we go during the summer! Factor in the crowds and heat, and we need at least 10 nights to accomodate everyone and feel like we had any kind of vacation at all!

Since we feel like we have to spend that kind of time, we only go once every two years. It's more important for us to space our visits out a little bit and be able to enjoy ourselves when we do get to go!!!!

 

[julie.uk]

Hi
we try to go twice a year usually for 2 or 3 weeks at a time, but we do have to fly from the UK, so we stay a minimum of 2 weeks at a time to make the flight worthwhile.
I do find that we then have the time to take things easy, see all the parks at a relaxed pace with plenty of chill out time by the pool or at the water parks.
Looking forward to being there for 2 weeks from 27th November .

 

[Mcbruns]

I agree with Bellrella - it really depends. That being said - the first time we took the kids we stayed 6 days and thought that was perfect (they were 3 & 4 at the time). How ever long you choose, you will have a great time !

 

[milmore104]

It really does depend on your family but for starters I would say 7 or 8 nights would be good to start w/. We live in upstate NY we have to drive 3hours just to get to the airport and then fly down. We spend at least 10 days in WDW ( have spent 26 days). This is perfect for us. Our DD was 1 the first time we went. It makes it easier to relax and take your time if your staying longer. Where as if you only stay for 5 days you will get over tired and worn out fast trying to fit everything in. We have 2 days in each park and 2 resting days where we don't visit a park. But we are BIG park hoppers. It's nice to head to a park first thing in the morning take a mid afternoon break and then head to another park for dinner and the evening show! Have a great trip.

 

[abacobaby]

We took our 2 year old DD to DW last year for 6 days and it was so rushed. We didn't even have time to check out our hotel - POR or go to a waterpark, and we never took afternoon breaks because my DD actually enjoys sleeping in her comfy stroller. This year we are going for 11 nights (10 full days) and from my schedule I can tell that two weeks would actually be better, but we can't afford to go for that long. Since we are going for 10 days, we are spending one day at a waterpark, two days shopping, having one "lazy day", 4 days at DW parks, 1 day at Universal and 1 day at Seaworld. I'm spreading it out evenly so we don't go a park day after day. If I were you, I would go for at least 7 days. Why don't you just write down which parks/waterparks you would like to go to and then include anything else you would like to do and then see how many days you would need. It did not feel like a vacation last year when we did a park every day for 5 full days straight and then came back home. Just something to keep in mind. Oh, since we have our DD, we always spend 2 days at MK - that way you are not rushed and can come back another day and go on rides again or do anything you missed the first day. Hope this helps!

 

[swilphil]

I have two young kids (now 5 and 3), and we have never stayed for more than 5 nights, but we have been going once a year and don't feel like we have to do everything. We also go during times when the parks are open late. It also helps to stay at a deluxe resort so we spend very little time on transportation.

If you aren't planning on returning for at least a few years, I'd say a week is good. No matter how many days you go, get to the parks at opening and plan on morning EMH at MK. You will get the rides with long waits out of the way. Also always have a fast pass. I would discourage trying to do Disney, Universal and Seaworld. We have been 4 times and still haven't ventured out of the Disney parks. We haven't even done a waterpark or DTD. We'll do all that when the kids get older.

 

[alwayspooh]

My 1st question, is this your first time with your family? If so, then I would suggest that you do at least 7 full days (not travel days). The more days you stay the more relaxed you feel because when you arrive at Disney and find out how much there is to do, you don't want to feel overwhelmed by the fact of trying to do to much in one day in one trip.

We do 8 to 10 day vacations. That way we don't feeled rushed and it gives us enough time to see and do all the the things we want to do at the parks, have a day at the water park, spend some quality time at the pool and get some rest along the way. We also allow for a day off property but this is our family and yours might be different (Seaworld, Universal or somewhere else).

Whatever length of stay you decide, you will have a great time!!

 

[nluvwithmickey]

We, Dh , me adn dd13 and 9 jsut returned from 13 delicious days at WDW. Out of those 13....6 were Theme park days, 2 were water park days, and the rest were spent relaxing in the pool, shopping, visiting other resorts and going to the campfire at Ft Wilderness.

Our previous trips were 10, 7 & 4 days.....I will have a very hard time going for less than 10 days from now on. we really enjoyed the relaxing and not having to constantly rush from morning to night in order to fit all we wanted to see in our schedule. Nothing quite like sipping your morning coffee while watching others rush to the parks and having the pool all to yourself for the morning....

 

[scoutsmom99]

If it is your first time or if you have not gone in the last 10 years I would reccomend staying for 7 nights. But, depending on when (Summer, Winter, Spring, Fall) you are going to the parks you might want more or less days. I would think you would spend you arrival day relaxing do a some parks have a rest day do a couple more parks and then leave.

 

[LiteBrite]

We have done 9 nights many times, and always loved it. One time we were able to do 11 nights, and that was even better. I would love to do a full 2 weeks someday.

With little kids, you might not want to stay quite that long, but I would definitely recommend at least 7 nights, so that you can take your time while you're there, and let the kids have their naps and regular bedtime. That helps so much!